System, computer program product and method for managing documents

ABSTRACT

A system, method and computer program product for managing documents. The system includes an image forming apparatus configured to display interactive menus so as to allow an operator of the image forming apparatus to interact with a document manager. The display interactive menus are downloaded from the document manager to the image forming apparatus based on a request by the operator. The document manager is configured to search for application services providers (ASPs) over a network and based on operator inputs. The document manager can search documents within the ASPs, retrieve documents and URLs, store documents and data. The system can provide basic and/or customized interactive menus displayed on the screen of the image forming apparatus.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/795,438filed Mar. 1, 2001, the entire contents of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to methods, computer-based systems andcomputer program products for managing documents or files.

2. Discussion of the Background

An application service provider (ASP) is an entity, typically a company,that offers users (individual customers, companies, enterprises, etc.)access over a network, such as the Internet, to applications and relatedservices that would otherwise have to be located on the customer's localcomputer. For example, ASPs can provide searchable databases of legal,medical, financial, educational, scientific, or marketing documents.Alternatively, some companies provide in-house type ASPs whereinapplications are not on the company's employee's personal computers, butinstead on a company computer accessible by the employees via a companynetwork. For the purpose of this document, the term “ASP” is thusintended to be broadly interpreted and to include a provider that allowsa user to use an application not loaded on the user's computer.

An example of a conventional network of ASPs connected via the Internetis shown in FIG. 1, which shows four exemplary document ASPs 10-40connected to an Internet 50. In this example, a user 70 mayindependently connect to the ASPs 10-40 via the Internet 50 and downloaddocuments, either to view on the screen of a personal computer (PC) 80,to print with a printer 82, to store in a local storage device 84 and/ora medium drive 86.

Today, there are a great number of ASPs providing various kinds ofservices and documents. For example, an ASP may provide legal documents,while another may provide marketing documents, yet another may provideeducational, scientific, financial, or medical documents, etc.Furthermore, different ASPs may provide these documents in differentformats, for example, using different graphical user interfaces (GUIs).When a user needs different kinds of documents, for example, a legaldocument, a financial document, a scientific document, and each of whichis stored in different ASPs, the user must search, find and access anASP that provides the desired documents. When a number of differentkinds of documents are desired, the user may have to search, find andaccess several ASPs. This multiple searching requirement is timeconsuming for the user. In addition, because various ASPs may providedocuments using different formats, the user may have to re-format thedocuments so as to obtain documents of a single format. Thisre-formatting is also burdensome on the user. Because most ASPs chargetheir customers for their services rendered, typically on a pay-per-usebasis or a contract basis, the customers, or users, may have to payseveral bills, one for each ASP used. This multiple billing system thusimposes an extra burden on the user.

In an effort to alleviate these problems, a system, computer programproduct and method of managing documents retrieved from, or stored to,ASPs were disclosed in commonly owned co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/684,965, which is incorporated hereby by reference.

The management system, computer program product and method disclosed inSer. No. 09/684,965 are configured to, inter alia, search for ASPs overa network; retrieve documents, URLs and other data; store documents anddata at the ASPs, within a document manager, or at the user; formatdocuments; generate and issue unified bills from a plurality of billsfrom a plurality of ASPs. The document manager can provide consultingadvice to the user regarding document managing, and can manage thestored documents.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the present invention is to provide a method, a system anda computer program product to provide user-interfaces, or menus, topermit an operator, e.g. a person using the system, to convenientlyinteract with an image forming apparatus, a document manager, such asthe one disclosed in Ser. No. 09/684,965 and ASPs. In particular, thepresent invention permits an operator to take advantage of the servicesoffered by the document manager, such as document storage at ASPs anddocument retrieval from ASPs, by interacting conveniently via menusdisplayed on an image forming apparatus, such as a multi-functiondigital copier. For example, the operator may request the documentmanager to store a document at an ASP by inputting a storage request,the document to be stored and the desired storage location using a menudisplayed at the multi-function digital copier. The operator may alsorequest the document manager to retrieve a document from an ASP byinputting a retrieval request and keywords to find the desired documentusing a menu displayed at the multi-function digital copier.

To achieve this and other objects, the present invention provides acomputer based system configured to provide menus to interact with animage forming apparatus, a document manager and ASPs. The systemaccording to the present invention typically includes a computerprogram, which receives data from operators, and/or a document manager,and/or ASPs, transforms the received data in some desired way, and thenoutputs the transformed data stream to an image forming apparatus. Forexample, the computer program can receive and output a request forsearching, retrieving or saving a document. The computer program canselect and transmit a menu to a screen of the image forming apparatusbased on the received request. The computer program can receive andoutput information, such as user I.D.s, passwords, documents (e.g.scanned by the operators), names (e.g., of documents, operators, orauthors), addresses (e.g., street, P.O. Box, or e-mail addresses), phonenumbers, dates and times (e.g., of document creations or documentrequests), serial numbers (e.g., of the device that scanned thedocument). The computer program can select, create, request, or receivea menu based on the received operator information, and transmit the menuto the screen of the image forming apparatus. In one embodiment, theselected menu is customized to the operator of the image formingapparatus or to the image forming apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional ASP/user network.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overall system configurationaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an image forming apparatusaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of an image forming apparatusaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A-C show examples of menus displayed on a display screen of animage forming apparatus to interact with a document manager according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6A shows a schematic representation of a control panel for animage forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 6B shows a schematic representation of a menu displayed on adisplay screen of an image forming apparatus according to one embodimentof the present invention.

FIGS. 7-11 show flowcharts of a method of managing documents from animage forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of a method of managing documents from animage forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of a method of managing documents from adocument manager according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of a method of managing documents from animage forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of a method of managing documents from adocument manager according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designateidentical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 2 isa block diagram of a system for managing documents according to thepresent invention, and in particular to provide menus allowing anoperator to interact with a document manager from a remote location,such as a multi-function digital printer. The system includes a network50 that interconnects at least one, but preferably a plurality of ASPs10-40, a document manager 60, and at least one user 70, but preferably aplurality of users 70, 72, 74 and 76 connected to the document manager60 via a network 55. The users 70, 72, 74 and 76 are thus remote userswith respect to the document manager 60. The networks 50 and 55 arepreferably the Internet, but can also be a local area network, a widearea network, any type of network such as an intranet, an extranet, or acombination thereof. An extranet may be used to provide controlledaccess to external users, for example through the Internet. How theusers 70 and the document manager 60 can be connected to the Internet 50and 55 is well-known in the art and is explained for example, in part 38of “How Computers Work”, by Ron White, Que Corporation, pps. 340-349,September, 1999, ISBN: 0-7897-2112-0, the entire content of this bookbeing hereby incorporated by reference. Other communications links forthe networks 50 and 55, such as a virtual private network, or a wirelesslink, may be used as well.

As shown in FIG. 2, the user 72 (and similarly users 70, 74 and 76) caninclude a PC 80, an multi-function printer (MFP) 90, and a server 100which can provide access to a group ware database (not shown). Ofcourse, user 72 (and similarly users 70, 74 and 76) may also include aprinter 82, a local storage device 84, or a medium drive 86, or acombination of such devices. Alternatively, the users 70, 72, 74 and 76may also include other multifunction devices such as the RicoheCabinet™.

As shown in FIG. 2, the user 72 (and similarly users 70, 74 and 76) mayinteract (exchange data) with the document manager 60 via thenetwork/Internet 55, so as to benefit from a number of services providedby the document manager 60, which are described in detail in 09/684,965.For example, the user 72 may provide the document manager 60 with arequest for searching and retrieving a document, or a request forstoring a document scanned by the MFP 90 at an ASP. The user 72 may alsoprovide the document manager 60 with other information such as userI.D.s, passwords, the name of the person scanning the document, the nameof the author of the document, the date and time of the scanning, theversion of the document, the MFP 90's serial number and/or location.

In a preferred embodiment, the MFP 90 provides interactive menus basedon information inputted by the operator of the MFP 90, so as to allowthe operator to conveniently take advantage of the services provided bythe document manager 60. These interactive menus can be downloaded bythe MFP 90 from the document manager 60 via the network 55. The MFP 90can display the interactive menus on a display screen for the operator.In a preferred embodiment, a browser such as Internet Explorer™ byMicrosoft Corp. or Netscape Navigator™ by Netscape is installed in theMFP 90 so that the operator of the MFP 90 can access the documentmanager 60 using browsing operations. The MFP 90 is described in detailbelow in connection with FIGS. 3-6.

The MFP 90 shown in FIGS. 3-4 includes a central processing unit (CPU)331, and various elements are connected to the CPU 331 by an internalbus 332. The CPU 331 services multiple tasks while monitoring the stateof the MFP 90. The elements connected to the CPU 331 include a read onlymemory (ROM) 333, a random access memory (RAM) 334, a hard disk drive(HDD) 335, a floppy disk drive (FDD) 336 capable of receiving a floppydisk 307, a communication interface (I/F) 338, and a modem unit 339. Inaddition, a control panel 337, a scanner unit 340, a printer unit 341,and an image processing device 342 can be connected to the CPU 331 bythe bus 332. Both the I/F 338 and the modem unit 339 are connected to acommunication network 300, which is further connected to a publictelephone line (not shown). MFP 90 can thus be connected to PC 80, ornetwork 55 via the communication network 300. According to oneembodiment of the present invention, the MFP 90 can be implemented usingthe server shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,335, the entire content of whichis hereby incorporated by reference.

In the embodiment where MFP 90 includes a digital copier, the modem unit339, the scanner unit 340, the printer unit 341, and the imageprocessing device 342 are collectively called the image processing unitsof the MFP 90. These elements correspond to the hardware of the MFP 90which carry out the image processing functions as the digital copier.

In a preferred embodiment, program code instructions for the MFP 90 maybe stored in the HDD 335 and executed by the CPU 331. These instructionsmay be menu management instructions, such as instructions to create,select, retrieve, transmit, display, and store menus. In other words,these instructions may be the instructions to perform the method stepsdescribed in detail below with corresponding FIGS. 7-15. Theseinstructions permit the MFP 90 to interact with the document manager 60and to control the control panel 337 and the image processing units ofthe MFP 90. These instructions may also be image processinginstructions.

Alternatively, the program code instructions may be stored on the floppy307 and read by the FDD 336 and executed by the CPU 331 to carry out theinstructions. Alternatively, the program code instructions may be readfrom the floppy 307 to the HDD 335. Alternatively, the program codeinstructions may be loaded to the ROM 333. It is therefore understoodthat in the present invention any of the HHD 335, the floppy disk 307,the RAM 334, and the ROM 333 correspond to a computer readable storagemedium capable of storing program code instructions. Other devices andmedium that can store the instructions according to the presentinvention include for example magnetic disks, optical disks includingDVDs, magneto-optical disks such as Mos, and semiconductor memory cardssuch as PC cards.

In a preferred embodiment, the control panel 337 includes a displayscreen 142 (see FIGS. 5A-C and 6A-B) that displays menus allowing theoperator of the MFP 90 to interact with the document manager 60. Thedisplay screen 142 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasmadisplay device, or a cathode ray tube (CRT) diplay. The display screen142 does not have to be integral with, or embedded in, the control panel337, but may simply be coupled to the control panel 337 by either a wireor a wireless connection. The control panel 337 may include keys forinputting information or requesting various operations. Alternatively,the control panel 337 and the display screen 142 may be operated by akeyboard, a mouse, a remote control, touching the display screen 142,voice recognition, or eye-movement tracking, or a combination thereof.

An example of a menu displayed on the display screen 142 is shown inFIG. 5A where the display screen 142 is displaying a menu that allows anoperator of the MFP 90 to interact with the document manager 60. In thisexample, the document manager 60 is referred to as “The Document Mall”on the display screen 142. The display screen 142 can have one or aplurality of message areas, such as message area 500. For example,message area 500 can inform the operator of various options orrequirements, such as the requirement to sign up if the operator (or“User”) is new, or offering the option to start with a free documentconsultation. The display screen 142 can have one or a plurality ofselection buttons, such as selection button 510, which may be selectedto start an online document consulting session provided by documentmanager 60. The display screen 142 can have one or a plurality ofinteractive areas, such as interactive areas 520, 530, 540 and 550. Inthis example, interactive areas 520 and 530 allow the operator to entera user I.D. and a user password, respectively. Interactive area 540allows the operator to select a request to store a document at an ASPusing the document manager 60, and/or to retrieve a document from an ASPusing document manager 60. Interactive area 550 allows the operator toidentify the type of document being stored or retrieved, such as legal,financial, insurance-related, engineering-related, accounting-related,or general office related. Of course, other types of documents may bedisplayed on the display screen 142. Selection button 510 andinteractive areas 520-550 may be activated for example by clicking abutton on a mouse or a remote control, pressing a key (or keys) on akeyboard or on the control panel 337, touching the display screen 142,speaking a command, etc.

After one of the document mall options (e.g., storing or retrieving)from the menu displayed on the display screen 142 shown in FIG. 5A isselected, the MFP 90 can display a follow up menu on display screen 142.For example, if the storing option is selected, the menu shown in FIG.5B can be displayed to prompt the operator of the MFP 90 to enter thetitle of the document in a document title window 555, the date of therequest in a date windows 560, and the access level of the document(described below) in an access level windows 565. The operator may alsoindicate whether the document should be stored as a “view only”document, or as a “view & change” document. If the document is stored asa “view only” document, any future retrieval of the document onlypermits viewing the document without editing, with the possibleexception of adding a watermark to the document for printing. If thedocument is stored as a “view & change” document, a future operator mayretrieve the document to view it and to edit it.

The concept of the access level of a document was described in detail in09/684,965. Briefly, the access levels identify the documents which aspecific user (or operator) can access at the ASPs via the documentmanager 60. The user 72 (and similarly users 70, 74 and 76) may assignan access level to each document stored at the ASP. During a retrievaloperation, the user's ID is transmitted to the document manager 60 andthe document manager 60 retrieves documents that match the user's accesslevel. As a result, security management can be accomplished and thesearch time can be reduced. The access level for each user can be storedin the document manager 60. When documents are stored in the ASPs, theaccess level can be set with each document. The access level for eachstored document can also be stored at the ASPs. When the documentmanager 60 executes a document retrieval operation, the documentmanager's search engine and/or the ASPs' search engine execute theretrieval operation only for documents having an access level matchingthe user's access level. Consequently, the retrieval time is shortenedand high security documents can be accessed by only appropriate users.

If the retrieving option is selected in FIG. 5A, the menu shown in FIG.5C can be displayed to prompt the operator of the MFP 90 to enter one ora plurality of keywords in a keyword window 570, the date in the datewindow 560 and optionally, the type of document being retrieved in adocument type window 575. The document type window 575 may have apull-down menu to select one of a plurality of document types, such aslegal, finance, insurance, engineering, accounting, or general.

FIGS. 5A-C are examples of menus displayed on the display screen 142 topermit an operator of the MFP 90 to interact with the document manager60. Other menus, with different layouts, different names, differentdesigns, different fonts, different sizes for the areas and buttons, anddifferent options are possible and are within the spirit of the presentinvention.

An example of the control panel 337 for MFP 90 with the display screen142 which may be used for the present invention is shown in FIG. 6A. Thecontrol panel 337 can include a contrast amount key 143 adjacent to thedisplay screen 142 for changing a contrast of the display screen 142.The control panel 337 can also include a start key 149 for starting acopying operation or ASP document operation when depressed, a ten keykeypad 150 for inputting data. The control panel 337 may also include analphabetic or alphanumeric keypad (not shown). These keypads can be usedfor example to enter the operator's user I.D., password, document nameand type of document to store or retrieve, location to store thedocument, keywords, dates, access level and other information to send tothe document manager 60. Of course, the key pad 150 can also be used toenter copy mode information, such as the number of copies, or thepercentage magnification/reduction desired. The control panel 337 mayalso include a set number clear and copy stop key 151 for eitherclearing preset numbers or stopping a copying operation when depressed.In the ASP document mode, the key 151 can also be used to delete thealphabetic input from the key pad 150. A confirming key 152 may also beused to confirm information to use the MFP 90 as a copy machine, such asthe number of copies, magnification/reduction and/or a margin of a copysheet. The control panel 337 may also include an interruption copy key153 for interrupting a document storing operation, or a documentretrieving operation, or a copying operation when depressed. A preheatkey 154 for preheating a fixing roller, and/or a mode-clear key 154clearing a preset mode can also be included to the control panel 337.Keys 155 and 144-148 of control panel 337 can be used for otheroperations of the various modes of the MFP 90. According to oneembodiment of the present invention, the control panel 337 can beimplemented using the control panel shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,593,the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The display screen 142 shown in FIG. 5A-C and 6A-B can be made of a filldot displaying element, for example, a liquid crystal, a fluorescentmaterial, and can include a matrix touch panel in a state of a sheetoverlaid on the full dot displaying element. An example of aninteractive menu displayed on display screen 142 is shown in FIG. 6B.The interactive menu shown in FIG. 6B can be stored in and read out fromthe RAM 334 of MFP 90. In other words, the interactive menu shown inFIG. 6B can be displayed on display screen 142 without a connection to anetwork connection between the MFP 90 and the document manager 60. In apreferred embodiment, the interactive menu shown in FIG. 6B is a basicmenu (or “basic screen”), which is read from the RAM 334 and displayedwhen the MFP 90 is turned on. In this embodiment, the display screen 142can be used to display one or a plurality of copy options and messages,for example to select a paper tray, to request stapling of the copies,to reduce or magnify, to set margins, etc. In other words, the operatorof the MFP 90 can perform copying and faxing operations via controlpanel 337 without being connected to any network. In addition to thesecopy mode settings and messages, the interactive menu displayed on thedisplay screen 142 can have a “Document Mall” selection button 162. Inthis example, the “Document Mall” selection button 162 is positionednext to a message display area 161, which may display copy mode messagesand/or ASP document mode messages. The operator of the MFP 90 can thusselect the ASP document mode, for example by touching the “DocumentMall” selection button 162 and the start key 149. Once the ASP documentmode is selected via the “Document Mall” selection button 162, the MFP90 establishes a connection between the MFP 90 and the document manager60. Interactive menus can then be downloaded from the document manager60 to the MFP 90, for example through a browsing operation. For example,the menu shown in FIG. 5A can be first downloaded and displayed ondisplay screen 142. Based on input from the operator of the MFP 90 viathis menu, the MFP 90 then downloads other menus form the documentmanager 60. For example, the menu shown in FIG. 5B can be downloadedfrom the document manager 60 if the operator requests a document storingoperation. Similarly, the menu shown in FIG. 5C can be downloaded fromthe document manager 60 if the operator requests a document retrievingoperation.

Advantageously, once the ASP document mode is selected, e.g. via the“Document Mall” selection button 162, the display screen 142 can displaya menu for document ASP modes that is customized to the operator of theMFP 90. For example, upon entering a user I.D. and a password, the MFP90 displays a customized menu to permit the operator to interact withthe document manager 60 on a personalized basis. The customized menuscan be stored in a storage device of the document manager 60 anddownloaded from the document manager 60 to the MFP 90 via the network55. In one embodiment, the operator of the MFP 90 enters the user I.D.and the password using a default ASP document menu displayed after theASP document mode is selected. The document manager 60 then requests thedesired customized menu using a look-up table stored for example in oneof the document manager 60's storage devices. For example, an operator“A” enters her user I.D. at the control panel 337, which prompts thedocument manager 60 to select an ASP document mode menu customized forthe ABC company for which operator “A” works. The document manager 60thus can provide the operator “A” with a company level customization.Alternatively, or in addition, an operator “B” enters her user I.D.which prompts the document manager 60 to select a menu customized forthe legal department of the DEF company for which operator “B” works.The document manager 60 thus can provide the operator “B” with a group(or department) level customization. Alternatively, or in addition, anoperator “C” enters her user I.D. which prompts the document manager 60to select a menu customized for the operator “C”. The document manager60 thus can provide the operator “C” with an individual levelcustomization.

Advantageously, if the MFP 90 is part of a system that utilizes groupware such as Lotus Notes, the company name, the group or departmentname, and/or the individual name can be read out from the group waredatabase and are selected from the database. The group ware databaseaccess can be particularly useful when the access level for storingdocuments is set. If the operator of the MFP 90 is storing somedocuments in the ASP, he or she can set the access level for eachdocument. The access level can be changed for each person, for example,person “E” can be designated as a “view only” person, and person “F” canbe designated as a “view and change” person. In order to designate theaccess level to the document for each person, the operator can selectindividuals who can access the documents from the group ware addressdatabase, and can designate the access level to the documents for eachselected person. In order to do so, the group ware database, inparticular the group ware address database, is connected to the MFP 90,and can be accessed from the MFP 90 for example via server 100 and/orthrough a LAN.

In another embodiment, the display screen 142 can display a menu for ASPdocument modes that is customized to the MFP 90.

FIGS. 7-15 show flowcharts illustrating a method of managing documentsaccording to the present invention, which can be implemented by thesystems and devices shown in FIGS. 2-6. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the MFP 90 shown in FIGS. 3-4 performs the method describedbelow. The method described below is described based on this embodiment,wherein the operator of the MFP 90 uses the control panel 337 and thedisplay screen 142 of the MFP 90 to interact with the document manager60. The method is thus described by explaining the steps performed bythe MFP 90 which interacts with the document manager 60. Of course, thefollowing method steps are not intended to be limiting, but can bemodified, omitted, reordered so as to stay within the spirit of thepresent invention.

Before using the MFP 90, the operator has typically already beenregistered with the document manager 60 and her account information(user I.D. password, customization information, etc) has beenregistered. As shown in FIG. 7, at step 600 the MFP 90 reads a basicmenu from its RAM 334 and displays the basic menu on its display screen142. This basic menu can be for example the menu shown in FIG. 6B. Atstep 605, the MFP 90 inquires whether an operation is requested. If anoperation is not requested, the MFP 90 loops until an operation isrequested. At step 610, the MFP 90 inquires whether the operatorrequested access to the Document Mall, i.e. requested to use thedocument manager 60. For example, this request may have been entered byselecting the “Document Mall” button 162 shown in FIG. 6B. If theDocument Mall was not requested, the MFP 90 inquires at step 615 whetherthe copy start switch is turned on. The copy start switch can be turnedon by depressing the key start 149 of control panel 337 (see FIG. 6A).Once the copy start switch is on, the MFP 90 performs copying operationsat step 620, then ends its routine.

If the Document Mall was requested at step 610, the MFP inquires at step625 whether the copy start switch is turned on, e.g. by depressing thekey start 149 of control panel 337. If the copy start switch is not on,the MFP 90 inquires at step 630 whether the request was canceled. If therequest was canceled, the MFP 90 ends its routine. Otherwise, the MFP 90loops back to step 625. Once the copy start switch is on, the MFP 90inquires at step 635 whether the document manager 60 is connected to theMFP 90. If the document manager 60 is not connected, the MFP 90 inquiresat step 640 whether a time out error occurred. If no time out erroroccurred, the MFP 90 loops back to step 635. If a time out erroroccurred, the MFP 90 reads at step 645 the error message from its RAM334 and displays the message on its display screen 142. For example, theerror message can be displayed on the message display portion 161 shownin FIG. 6B. The MFP 90 then goes to step 695 (FIG. 8) and reads thebasic menu from its RAM 334 and displays the basic menu on its displayscreen 142.

Returning to step 635, if the document manager 60 is connected to theMFP 90, the MFP 90 sends at step 650 a Document Mall menu requestcommand to the document manager 60. The MFP 90 inquires at step 655whether the menu is received from the document manager 60. If the menuis not received, the MFP 90 inquires at step 660 whether a time outerror occurred. If no time out error occurred, the MFP 90 loops back tostep 655. If a time out error occurred, the MFP 90 goes to step 690(FIG. 8) and disconnects the connection with the document manager 60.Going back to step 655, if the menu is received from the documentmanager 60 through the network 55, the MFP 90 displays the menu at step665 (FIG. 8) on its display screen 142. The MFP 90 inquires at step 670whether the user I.D. and password are inputted, and loops until theseentries are inputted. Once the user I.D. and password are inputted, theMFP 90 inquires at step 675 whether the request is a storing request,i.e. whether the operator wants to store a document at an ASP via thedocument manager 60. If the request is not a storing request, the MFP 90inquires at step 680 whether the request is a retrieve request, i.e.whether the operator wants to retrieve a document from an ASP via thedocument manager 60. If the request is not a retrieve request, the MFP90 inquires at step 685 whether the request is canceled. If the requestis not canceled, the MFP 90 loops back to step 675. If the request iscanceled, the MFP 90 disconnects the communication with the documentmanager 60 at step 690. At step 695, the MFP 90 reads the basic menufrom its RAM 334 and displays this basic menu on its display screen 142.The MFP 90 then ends its routine.

Returning to step 675, if the request is a storage request, the MFP 90goes to step 700 (FIG. 9) and inquires whether the storage location isinputted. If the storage location is not inputted, the MFP 90 inquiresat step 705 whether the request is canceled. If the request is canceled,the MFP 90 goes to step 690 (FIG. 8) and disconnects the communicationwith the document manager 60. If the request is not canceled, the MFP 90loops back to step 700. Once the storage location is inputted, the MFP90 inquires at step 710 whether the storage location is an ASP. If thestorage location is not an ASP, the MFP 90 inquires at step 715 whetherthe document to be stored is set on the MFP 90 for copying/scanning. Forexample, the document may be set on the MFP 90's glass plate or on theMFP 90's automated document feeder. If the document is not set, the MFP90 inquires at step 720 whether the request is canceled. If the requestis not canceled, the MFP loops back to step 715. If the request iscanceled, the MFP 90 goes to step 690 (FIG. 8). Once the document isset, the MFP 90 reads the document at step 725 and stores the documentin the designated location at step 730. The designated location can be alocal storage device, for example any one of the storage devices of MFP90, such as the floppy disk 307, the FHD 335, the RAM 334, and/or theROM 333. After storing the document, the MFP goes to step 690 (FIG. 8).

Returning to step 710, if the storage location is an ASP, the MFP 90displays a menu for entry of the access level of the document. Then, theMFP 90 inquires at step 740 whether the access level for the document isinputted. If the access level is not inputted, the MFP 90 inquires atstep 745 whether the request is canceled. If the request is notcanceled, the MFP loops back to step 740. If the request is canceled,the MFP 90 goes to step 690 (FIG. 8). Once the access level is inputted,the MFP 90 inquires at step 750 whether the document type is inputted.If the document type is not inputted, the MFP 90 inquires at step 745whether the request is canceled. If the request is not canceled, the MFPloops back to step 740. If the request is canceled, the MFP 90 goes tostep 690 (FIG. 8). Once the document type is inputted, the MFP 90inquires at step 755 whether the document is set on the MFP forcopying/scanning. If the document is not set, the MFP 90 inquires atstep 760 whether the request is canceled. If the request is notcanceled, the MFP loops back to step 755. If the request is canceled,the MFP 90 goes to step 690 (FIG. 8). Once the document is set, the MFP90 reads the document at step 765 and stores the document at step 770.For example, the MFP 90 stores the document in the HDD 335.

After storing the document, the MFP 90 inquires at step 775 (FIG. 10)whether the document reading operation is completed. The documentreading operation may not be completed because the documents containsseveral pages that must be independently set, copied/scanned and stored.If the document reading operation is not completed, the MFP 90 loopsback to step 755 (FIG. 9). Once the document reading operation iscompleted, the MFP 90 inquires at step 780 whether the transmissionswitch is on. For example, the transmission switch can be turned on bydepressing the start key 149 of control panel 337. If the transmissionswitch is not on, the MFP 90 inquires at step 785 whether the request iscanceled. If the request is canceled, the MFP 90 goes to step 690 (FIG.8) to disconnect the connection with the document manager 60. If therequest is not canceled, the MFP loops back to step 780. Once thetransmission switch is on, the MFP 90 transmits at step 790 the storeddocument with the access level, the document type, the user informationand IP address of the MFP to the document manager 60. The MFP 90inquires at step 795 whether the transmission is completed. If thetransmission is not completed, the MFP 90 inquires at step 800 whether atransmission error is detected. If no transmission error is detected,the MFP 90 loops back to step 795. If a transmission error is detected,the MFP 90 displays at step 805 a message on the display screen 142 tohelp the operator of the MFP 90 correct the error. For example, the MFP90 can display a message instructing the operator of the MFP 90 to pushthe transmission switch again. After displaying the message, the MFP 90inquires at step 810 whether the request is canceled. If the request iscancel, the MFP 90 goes to step 690 (FIG. 8). Otherwise, the MFP loopsback to step 795. Once the transmission is completed, the MFP 90displays at step 815 a message indicating that the transmission iscompleted. The message can be stored in and read from the RAM 334. TheMFP then goes to step 690 (FIG. 8) to disconnect the connection with thedocument manager 60, read and display the basic menu, and end its ASPmode operation.

Returning to step 680 (FIG. 8), if the request is a retrieve request,the MFP 90 goes to step 820 (FIG. 11) and changes the menu on itsdisplay screen 142 so as to instruct the operator (user) to inputkeywords for the retrieval operation to be performed by the documentmanager 60. Optionally, the menu can prompt the user to enter thedocument type of the document to be retrieved. For example, the MFP 90can display the menu shown in FIG. 5C. The MFP 90 inquires at step 825whether the keyword or keywords are inputted. If the keywords are notinputted, the MFP 90 inquires at step 830 whether the request iscanceled. If the request is canceled, the MFP goes to step 690 (FIG. 8)and disconnects the connection to the document manager 60. If therequest is not canceled, the MFP 90 loops back to step 825. Once thekeywords are inputted, the MFP 90 inquires at step 835 whether the copystart switch is on. The MFP 90 loops until the copy start switch is on.Once the copy start switch is on, the MFP 90 transmits at step 840 thekeywords, the user I.D., and optionally the document type, to thedocument manager 60. The MFP 90 inquires at step 845 whether theretrieval results are received from the document manager 60. If theresults are not received, the MFP 90 inquires at step 850 whether therequest is canceled. If the request is canceled, the MFP 90 goes to step690 (FIG. 8) to disconnect the connection with the document manager 60.If the request is not canceled, the MFP 90 loops back to step 845. Oncethe retrieval results are received, the MFP 90 prints out at step 855the retrieved document. In an optional embodiment, the MFP 90 mergeswatermark information with the document and prints out the document withthe embedded watermark. Once the retrieved document is printed out, theMFP goes to step 690 (FIG. 8) to disconnect the connection with thedocument manager 60, read and display the basic menu and end its ASPmode operation.

In a preferred embodiment, the MFP 90 permits a copy operation to beperformed by the MFP 90 while maintaining the document manager 60connection. This embodiment is particularly useful when several users(operators) are using the MFP 90. For example, while one user may beretrieving a document from an ASP via document manager 60, another usercan use the MFP 90 to copy documents. This embodiment is now describedin connection with FIG. 12. Referring to FIG. 12, MFP 90 inquires atstep 860 whether an interrupt request is received. If an interruptrequest is not received, the MFP 90 loops back. Once an interruptrequest is received, the MFP 90 inquires at step 865 whether thedocument manager 60 is connected. If the document manager 60 is notconnected, the MFP 90 interrupts at step 870 the current copy operation.If the document manager 60 is connected, the MFP 90 displays at step 880a basic screen while maintaining the connection with the documentmanager 60. At step 875, the MFP 90 performs a new copy operation. Atstep 885, the MFP 90 inquires whether the interrupt switch is pushedagain. If not, the MFP 90 loops back. If the interrupt switch is pushedagain, the MFP returns to the interrupted operation at step 890, andresumes the interrupted operation at step 895. If the interruptedoperation is an ASP document operation, the MFP 90 displays the ASPdocument mode menu that was displayed prior to the interrupt request. Atstep 900, the MFP 90 inquires whether the (interrupted) operation iscompleted. If the operation is not completed, the MFP 90 loops back tostep 895 until the operation is completed. Once the operation iscompleted, the MFP 90 ends its routine.

As mentioned above, in one embodiment of the present invention, themenus for the ASP document mode may be stored at the document manager60, so that the MFP 90 requests and receives the menus from the documentmanager 60 for displaying on the display screen 142. The steps performedby the document manager 60 in this embodiment are now described inconnection with FIG. 13. Referring to FIG. 13, the document manager 60inquires at step 1000 whether a request for a connection is received.Once the connection request is received, at step 1005 the documentmanager 60 connects to the MFP 90. At step 1010, the document manager 60inquires whether a Document Mall menu request is received. If no suchrequest is received, the document manager loops. Once a Document Mallmenu request is received, the document manager 60 sends at step 1015 aDocument Mall menu to the MFP 90. For example, document manager 60 cansend a menu such as the one shown in FIG. 5A. The document manager 60then inquires at step 1020 whether a user I.D. and a request type isreceived. The request type is for example a document storage request ora document retrieval request. Document manager 60 loops until theseentries are received. The document manager 60 then inquires at step 1025whether the request is a document storage request. If the request is nota storage request, the document manager 60 inquires at step 1030 whetherthe request is a document retrieve request. If the request is not aretrieve request, the document manager 60 ends its routine. If therequest is a retrieve request, the document manager 60 sends at step1035 a menu prompting the operator of the MFP 90 to input keywords forthe retrieval operation. For example, document manager 60 can send amenu such as the one shown in FIG. 5C. The document manager thenperforms the retrieval operation at step 1040. The retrieval operationof step 1040 is described in detail in commonly owned co-pending Ser.No. 09/684,965, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated byreference. In particular, FIGS. 5A1, 5A2, C and D of Ser. No. 09/684,965describe the retrieval operation performed by document manager 60 atstep 1040. Once the retrieval operation is completed, the documentmanager 60 may end its routine.

Returning to step 1025, if the request is a storage request, thedocument manager 60 sends at step 1045 a menu prompting the operator ofthe MFP 90 to input the access level for the storage operation. Forexample, document manager 60 can send a menu such as the one shown inFIG. 5B. The document manager then performs the storage operation atstep 1050. The storage operation of step 1050 is described in detail incommonly owned co-pending Ser. No. 09/684,965, and more particularlywith FIGS. 5B and C of Ser. No. 09/684,965. Once the storage operationis completed, the document manager 60 may end its routine.

As mentioned above, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention,customized menus for the ASP document mode can be displayed on thedisplay screen 142. The steps performed by the MFP 90 for thisembodiment are now described in connection with FIG. 14. The stepsassociated with this embodiment can be added to those of the embodimentshown in FIG. 7. Referring to FIG. 14, the MFP 90 inquires at step 610(same as in FIG. 7) whether the Document Mall is requested. If theDocument Mall is not requested, the MFP 90 goes to step 615 of FIG. 7.If the Document Mall is requested, the MFP 90 inquires at step 1060whether the user I.D. and password are received. If these entries arenot received, the MFP 90 instructs the user at step 1070 to input theuser I.D. and password, and to turn on the copy start switch. Once theuser I.D. and password are received, the MFP 90 inquires at step 625whether the copy start switch is turned on. If not, the MFP 90 inquiresat step 630 wether the request is canceled. If the request is canceled,the MFP 90 ends its routine. Otherwise, the MFP 90 loops back to step625. Once the copy start switch is turned on, the MFP 90 goes to step635 of FIG. 7.

In the above embodiment, wherein customized menus are displayed at thedisplay screen 142, the customized menus can be stored at the documentmanager 60. In that case, the document manager 60 follows a differentmethod than the one shown in FIG. 13. This modified embodiment for thedocument manager 60 is described next in connection with FIG. 15.Referring to FIG. 15, the document manager 60 inquires at step 1080whether the user I.D. is received. If not, the document manager 60 loopsuntil the user I.D. is received. Once the user I.D. is received, thedocument manager 60 checks at step 1085 the received user I.D. against alook-up table. The look-up table can be stored at the document manager60. The document manager 60 inquires at step 1090 whether the receiveduser I.D. corresponds to a user I.D. in the look-up table. If thereceived user I.D. does not correspond to any user I.D. in the look-uptable, the document manager 60 at step 1095 reads out a basic DocumentMall menu. This basic (or default) Document Mall menu can be stored atthe document manager 60. If the received user I.D. corresponds to a userI.D. in the look-up table, the document manager at step 1100 reads out acustomized Document Mall menu corresponding to the received user I.D.,for example from a database located at the document manager 60. At step1105, the document manager 60 sends the Document Mall menu (either thebasic or the customized) to the MFP 90. The document manager 60 thengoes to step 1025 of FIG. 13 and completes its operations.

The above methods (FIGS. 7-15) represent exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention, and the present invention is not limited to thespecific steps, nor the order of the steps, presented above. A person ofordinary skill in the art would recognize that the present invention canbe implemented using a variety of similar steps in a variety of orders.

The present invention thus also includes a computer-based product thatmay be hosted on a storage medium and include instructions that can beused to program a computer to perform a process in accordance with thepresent invention. This storage medium can include, but is not limitedto, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROM,magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, Flash Memory,Magnetic or Optical Cards, or any type of media suitable for storingelectronic instructions.

This invention may also be conveniently implemented using a conventionalgeneral purpose digital computer programmed according to the teachingsof the present specification, as will be apparent to those skilled inthe computer art. Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared byskilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure aswill be apparent to those skilled in the software art. In particular,the computer program product for providing interactive menus andmanaging ASP documents according to the present invention can be writtenin a number of computer languages including but not limited to C, C⁺⁺,Fortran, and Basic, as would be recognized by those of ordinary skill inthe art. The invention may also be implemented by the preparation ofapplications specific integrated circuits or by interconnecting anappropriate network of conventional component circuits, as will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art.

Obviously, numerous additional modifications and variations of thepresent invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It istherefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claimsthe present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallydescribed herein.

1. An image processing apparatus, comprising: a control panel includinga display screen and a start key; the display screen configured todisplay a basic screen indicating one or a plurality of copy options andmessages, and a document mall selection button; a processor configuredto establish a connection between the image processing apparatus and adocument manager via a network when the document mall selection buttonis selected; and a processor configured to start at least one of acopying operation and a document operation when the start key isselected, wherein the display is configured to display a keyword field,a date field and a document type field when the document operation is adocument retrieval operation, and the control panel is configured toreceive an input for at least one of the keyword field, date field anddocument type field.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the displayscreen is configured to display a message received from the documentmanager.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display screen isconfigured to display an interactive area; and the control panel isconfigured to receive a user input corresponding to informationdisplayed in the interactive area.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe display screen is configured to display at least a first field forentering at least one of a username and password.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the display is configured to display a document titlefield, a date field and an access level field when the documentoperation is a document storage operation; and the control panel isconfigured to receive an input for at least one of the document titlefield, date field and access level field.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4,further comprising: a communications interface configured to transmit,from the image processing apparatus to the document manager via anetwork, a document, a document title, a date and an access level basedon the received inputs.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising:a communications interface configured to transmit, from the imageprocessing apparatus to the document manager via a network, a requestfor a document, the request including at least one of a keyword, dateand document type corresponding to the received inputs.
 8. A method ofdisplaying information at an image processing device, comprising:displaying, at a display of the image processing apparatus, a basicscreen indicating one or a plurality of copy options and messages, and adocument mall selection button; establishing a connection between theimage processing apparatus and a document manager via a network when thedocument mall selection button is selected; starting at least one of acopying operation and a document operation when a start key on a controlpanel of the image processing device is selected; displaying, at thedisplay screen of the image processing device, a keyword field, a datefield and a document type field when the document operation is adocument retrieval operation; and receiving, at the control panel of theimage processing device, an input for at least one of the keyword field,date field and document type field.
 9. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising: displaying a message received from the document manager. 10.The method of claim 8, further comprising: displaying an interactivearea on the display of the image processing device; and receiving a userinput corresponding to information displayed in the interactive area atthe control panel of the image processing device.
 11. The method ofclaim 8, further comprising: displaying, on the display screen of theimage processing device, at least a first field for entering at leastone of a username and password.
 12. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising: displaying, on the display screen of the image processingdevice, a document title field, a date field and an access level fieldwhen the document operation is a document storage operation; andreceiving, at the control panel of the image processing device, an inputfor at least one of the document title field, date field and accesslevel field.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:transmitting, from the image processing apparatus to the documentmanager via a network, a document, a document title, a date and anaccess level based on the received inputs.
 14. The method of claim 12,further comprising: transmitting, from the image processing apparatus tothe document manager via a network, a request for a document, therequest including at least one of a keyword, date and document typecorresponding to the received inputs.
 15. An image processing apparatus,comprising: means for displaying, at a display of the image processingapparatus, a basic screen indicating one or a plurality of copy optionsand messages, and a document mall selection button; means forestablishing a connection between the image processing apparatus and adocument manager via a network when the document mall selection buttonis selected; and means for starting at least one of a copying operationand a document operation when a start key on a control panel of theimage processing device is selected, wherein the means for displayingdisplays a keyword field, a date field and a document type field whenthe document operation is a document retrieval operation, and thecontrol panel is configured to receive an input for at least one of thekeyword field, date field and document type field.
 16. A non-trasitorycomputer readable medium including computer program instructions whichcause a image processing device to execute a method of displayinginformation, comprising: displaying, at a display of the imageprocessing apparatus, a basic screen indicating one or a plurality ofcopy options and messages, and a document mall selection button;establishing a connection between the image processing apparatus and adocument manager via a network when the document mall selection buttonis selected; starting at least one of a copying operation and a documentoperation when a start key on a control panel of the image processingdevice is selected; displaying, at the display screen of the imageprocessing device, a keyword field, a date field and a document typefield when the document operation is a document retrieval operation; andreceiving, at the control panel of the image processing device, an inputfor at least one of the keyword field, date field and document typefield.